Thieves of the sea

Before you start reading this, keep in mind I just write for pleasure. I have no real intention to bring it out, but I still would like your feedback on this. Any reaction is welcome. If you review me, I would be glad to review your work. I hope you enjoy the story so far.

Thomas stood at the rail and looked at the dozen lights coming from the land in front of him. He remembered the first time he had been to Tortuga. It was the port where pirates, privateers, thieves, baggers and drunkards could slate their lust, make bargains and have a fight. Rotting docks, weather-beaten buildings, all sorts of livestock running free like a donkey, chickens, dogs, etc. That was Tortuga, the pirate port of the Caribbean.
For most of the men it was their second home, but it never was for Thomas. He couldn’t really understand why people wanted to live there in the first place.
However, there were of course also decent men and women living in the city who just wanted to get away from the law and be free to do what they wanted. They’d rather not be associated with piracy but it was not a choice. Piracy was also part of their lives. The food, the money, the artefacts to trade, it came all from what the pirates brought in. Generally, the booty was collected and divided to the people. Just like you would expect from another, civilised city elsewhere. They also had their laws and rules and the Brethren of the Coast kept an eye on it to make sure everybody followed them. Valdez was not that kind of pirate, he would set his own rules. The Brethren had more than enough of him but couldn’t really do something about him. He was one of the most wealthy pirates when it came to booty and he was well aware of that of course. So when Valdez would come into the harbor, no one said or did anything. They needed him, much to their disapproval of his way of working. He was that kind of pirate that gave the rest of them a bad name.
And Valdez knew why he went to Tortuga. Twenty men who were months at sea, without any pleasure of a woman. That could be dangerous. He had to keep them calm and a woman once every three months would do the trick, he knew. And every time, as soon as the anchor was dropped, it was almost impossible for them to wait, knowing what the night would bring them.
When Thomas and Mario arrived at the port, soon attractive girls lurked at them, trying to take them in. The promise of some good time together went past Thomas, he ignored them at best. The girls looked at him, disappointed they couldn’t catch him, turned and strode away at last to find another victim.
But not Mario. He was all different at that point. Thomas had to pull his friend along each time. He had to prevent he would be seduced by one of them or he wouldn’t see him back after a few days. He knew that from experience.
They wandered through the narrow streets and finally entered the tavern they looked for, The Crossed Swords.

Catherine had a busy evening with serving drinks to all of their guests. Beer and wine filled the tables royally and of course the rum could not be forgotten.
There was no time to rest and the crowd kept coming in.
One big group at once had entered the place and filled half of the room with their company.
Blake had been sitting most of the day at the bar but when that group of sailors had come in, he seemed to have a certain interest in them.
Catherine watched from a distance how Blake was talking to the men at their table and then remembered his conversation with Will earlier about getting in Valdez’ crew.
So she figured that this had to be his crew and he was talking his way in.
“Maid!”
She looked up and one of the men at that table raised his hand.
“Another round for all of us!”
She sighed and turned back to the bar to get everything.
“Here you go,” she said politely when she put everything that was ordered down on their table.
One of the men, sitting at the head of the table, grabbed her back and pushed her down on his lap.
“Hey, such a pretty face must have a pretty name. Won’t you tell it to me?”
“That’s for me to know and for you to guess.” She shook herself free and started to put all empty cups back on her tray.
“Come on, I asked it nicely. What is so bad about that?”
“If you don’t need anything else to drink, I’m of no use to you.” She picked up the filled tray. “I have other things to do.” Firmly, she stepped away from the table and therefore didn’t really see where she was going.
Suddenly she bumped into someone else and everything she was carrying fell on the ground. The sound made the people look in her direction.
She sighed and had only eye for the mess on the floor. “Now look what you have done,” she shouted at the intruder without looking at him. She kneeled down and started to clean up. She shook her head no and raised her head to see who had caused all of this. “Can’t you see where you’re…”
The rest of the words stuck in her throat.
Thomas intended to sit down and help her but she stopped him before he could.
“No. I can take this,” she said. It was a little too hard than she wanted it to sound.
Thomas went out of her way to not disturb her any further.
‘Wow,’ Thomas thought, ‘she’s even more beautiful than I remembered...’
He smiled at her but she quickly turned her back to him and left without looking back.
“Ah, look who has returned!”
Valdez’ loud voice behind him got him back to reality. He turned around. Thomas could see he had already been drinking quite a lot. He knew however that, despite his state, he could still be dangerous.
“So Bailey, where is my ship?”
“Well, about that…”
“You did bring me my ship, didn’t you?”
“We had some…trouble.”
“Trouble? You said you knew how handle it. You said I had to leave it to you to take that wreck to Basseterre, didn’t you?”
He was clearly still awake enough to remember all that.
“Yes Captain, but…the ship got into a storm and we lost it.”
He slammed his fist on the table. “Of course…”
“You saw how bad its condition was. We didn’t have a chance. The ship went down near the coast of Basseterre. It was a real tragedy. Only some survived.”
“Some including you two? A coincidence? Or a lie as well?”
It was not easy for Thomas to look him in the eye.
“Do you remember what I told you before you left?”
Thomas nodded. “That if I couldn’t do it, I have lied to you.”
“What do you call a man who promises one thing but doesn’t deliver?”
Thomas’ shoulders dropped. “A lair.”
“A liar indeed. And I recall this is not the first time you tell me this kind of story either, is it?!”
Thomas was losing control over the situation. “Like I said, it’s coincidence!”
“Really?! You take me for a fool, Bailey?”
“No! Never, captain.”
The captain sneered at him. “Where’s that friend of yours? Diaz?”
“Mario has nothing to do with it. I dragged him along in this. He couldn’t help for what has happened to the ship and the people.”
“When you see him you can tell him I want him to swab the whole deck four times a day from now on. Starting tonight!”
Thomas knew he was not going to like that.
Valdez took a swing of his drink. “Hmm!” He swallowed it down. “And tell him also that he will stay on deck, day and night! He should think again before throwing himself in with you. And as for you, I could lock you up, I could banish you to the crow’s nest for three weeks. But I won’t this time. You will know what awaits you when you’re back on my ship.”
Valdez suddenly grabbed Thomas by his shirt and pulled him close.
“And don’t try to do anything stupid like running off. You will regret it.”
He pushed him back hard. “Now, get out of my sight!”
Thomas staggered backwards, out of his way. He was safe for the moment, but what did he have in store for him back at the ship? It couldn’t be any good. It was clear there was a price to pay now.
He walked away from the table, back towards the entrance, in thoughts of what awaited him. Thomas knew it was of no use, he had cheated death too many times already. It had to come to a stop at some point.
“More wine, Em! And tell Will that these three here want something to eat!”
Her beautiful voice reached him again. She was so busy with the crowd, she still didn’t see him. But Thomas did see her, running around with her tray, taking the orders and moving swiftly, almost elegantly, between the tables filled with drunken men.
“Thomas!” a voice shouted. “Thomas! Aqui!”
Still enchanted by the girl, Thomas heard his name, although it seemed to come from far away. Reluctantly, he looked away from her and searched the one who was calling at him.
“Here!”
He saw his friend sitting a few tables further, near the door, and went over to him.
“Ah, Mario!”
“You were deep in thoughts.”
“Uhm…,” he hesitated, “I saw her.”
His eyes drifted away again, back to scan the room for her.
“Oh no. Thomas, that is not important. What did he say?”
“Hmmm?”
Mario pulled at his arm.
“He!”
“Valdez!”
“Well, you can imagine, can’t you? It’s the deck for you.”
“Not again…”
“And four times this time.”
“Four? Really?”
“Starting tonight.”
“We just got back!”
“And there’s another thing. You have to stay on deck at all times, so I believe you’ll be sleeping under the stars.”
“He must be kidding.”
Thomas raised his shoulders; “You can be happy it’s just that. If he wanted, he could come up with a painful or even deadlier punishment. This decision means he still needs you.”
“For what? Every time he punishes us, it is only to let us do his dirty work. Nothing else.”
Thomas let out a deep sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked up. “I don’t know what he has in store for me.”
Mario frowned. “He did not tell you yet?”
Thomas shook his head. “I’ll find out back at the ship he said.”
“You’re afraid?”
“Don’t know.” He lifted his eyebrows. “Maybe?”
“Thomas, he needs you too,” Mario said to comfort him. “You are smart, strong, fast, witty. And you have the best eye sight out of us all. He can not afford to loose you.”
“We all know what he is capable of, Mario.”
“Sí.”
Thomas thought back. “Like what happened to Dale. Serving as shark bait, dragged behind the Aquila. And to old Stone when he tried to send out a message to the authorities in Port Royal but Valdez caught him writing it. I’d rather chose to be six months in the crow’s nest then being a burning corpse hanging from the main yard.” Thomas frowned. “Not to forget the horrible death of poor young Henry. Caught stealing from Valdez’ cabin by Powell. Valdez had his both hands cut off and hung them at the top yard. Then asked Henry to go and get them. No wonder he fell to his death when he was not even half way.”
Mario leaned back in his chair.
“That were the most exceptional ones. You didn’t include lashing, executing, beating or even keelhauling yet.”
Thomas rolled with his eyes. “Yes, thank you, makes me feel a whole lot better,” he said sarcastically.
Mario noticed his mistake. “Lo siento, I didn’t want to…”
He shut his mouth and tried to find another subject.
“Before you came, Briggs told me that Valdez wants to leave early in the morning. I heard he wants to go to the cove. Probably for counting his money. It’s about time he gives us some. You know? The mutiny?”
“So you still think there’s a plot going on then?”
“I don’t know for sure. Like I said to you before, it could be just a rumour under the crew.”
Thomas thought about it. “I think we should find out. If there is a plot against Valdez, he has to know.”
“Porqué? This could be the best thing that ever happened to us! We can become very rich men if we join them!”
Thomas remembered the crew wasn’t sitting that far from them. He gave his friend a look that he had to speak more softly or the others would hear them talking.
Thomas whispered at him. “Or end up as very dead men if we don’t tell him!”
Mario looked away, sighed and looked back to him.
“You’re probably right,” he whispered. “So what are we going to do?”
“Who did you hear talking again?”
“Powell and Rogers. I believe they were the first one’s who thought of mutiny.”
“Well, we’ll talk to them. When we have proof, we warn Valdez of their plans.”
“And what if we are caught?”
“We won’t. Trust me, Mario. If you do as I say, they will tell us everything we want to know.”
“All right, let us drink then!”
Thomas hoped that the girl would serve them, but it was the older innkeeper instead. It was hard for him not to think of her or what might be coming to him but the rum did help a little to clear his head a short time from his troubles. They drank for a while and an hour later they left the tavern.

~

Two hours after they had left, Captain Valdez and his crew were also planning to leave. He spoke to his men.
“Listen close, lads. You saw that girl too, didn’t you?”
The men agreed with him.
“I would like to have her on board.”
“Captain, you know, just as us, that bringing a woman on board means bad luck.”
“If you don’t bring her on board you’ll know what bad luck feels like. Did I make myself clear?”
The men nodded they understood, but felt very uncomfortable.
“But do it fast and quietly. I want her on my ship tonight.”
He looked at each of his men at the table. “And she’s not to be harmed!” he told them on a dangerous tone. “If so, you’ll pay for it with your lives!”

~

Catherine wiped the sweat from her forehead. With a tired sigh she ran her eyes over the semi-empty hall.
“Emily. I’m going outside for a moment. Get some fresh air.” She took off her apron. “I won’t be long.”
“That’s fine, dear!”
She put her hand in her neck and massaged the sore spots. She was sweating all over her body.
“Why am I feeling so hot tonight? I’ve been very busy, yes, but this is unusual. Even for me.”
She walked through the back door and let the evening breeze cool her down.
“Oh, this feels nice.” She sighed. “Finally.”
She closed her eyes and instantly had to think back of the incident earlier that evening. The young man that had bumped into her. In her mind she heard herself stopping him when he wanted to help her pick up everything she had dropped. She regretted now she had done that. She smiled and for no reason she felt her heart beating faster.
“What is wrong with me?”
Suddenly firm hands grabbed her arms, without making any sound. She opened her eyes and only saw dark figures pulling her along. Her first reaction was to scream and try to escape, but Powell pointed a knife at her. Terrified as she was, she didn’t dare to move anymore.
“Make a sound and you’re dead,” he whispered dangerously to her. He faced the group. “We’re leaving!” And so they did.
After a while, when heading for the ship, the men started talking to each other.
“Daniel, we’ve not discussed this yet. What is the next step of our plan? Valdez?” asked Philip.
Powell looked over his shoulder to her.
“Don’t mind her,” Rogers replied. “She won’t tell,” he said in a dark way while watching her. “Will you?”
Catherine swallowed and shook no.
“See?”
Powell shrugged. “Well, if we don’t get our share when were back at the cove, we’ll do it. Let us say in about two weeks from now, when we’re on high seas. He won’t escape us there.” answered Daniel.
“But what if we’re caught? We can’t just leave the ship!”
“We won’t be caught,” Daniel assured him. “Who would betray the people who want to betray their enemy? Hmm?”
Philip was not completely convinced, but nodded his confirmation.
For the rest, they continued their way towards the ship in silence.

When coming back on the ship, Thomas decided to wait for Valdez on deck, together with Mario. There was no point on going below deck now and try to sleep or do anything else. It wouldn’t be long before Valdez returned and he would be looking for him nonetheless. So why hide?
And Thomas was right. After a couple of hours, Valdez showed up.
As he was alone, someone asked him where the rest was.
“They are running an errand for me,” he said. “But first I need to deal with something else.”
He looked around at his men. “Where is that lying bastard?!” His voice roared over the ship. “Bai-ley!”
Upon hearing his name, Thomas swallowed and his heart beat a pace faster. Mario put a hand on his shoulder. “Always strong…”
He nodded to his friend. “…never give up,” Thomas added.
He went over to Valdez.
“He doesn’t want to show himself, the coward,” the captain said sarcastically. He grinned.
“I’m here,” Thomas said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.
Valdez turned around to him. “Ha, giving me an excuse not coming after you, huh?”
The captain took a step forward and addressed the men surrounding him.
“You all know what this…lad here promised me to get!”
They nodded.
“Do you know what he brought back?!”
The crew was silent and looked at one another.
“Nada! Nothing!”
Thomas swallowed at his hard voice.
“And can you imagine what he said the reason was? It sank during a storm.”
“It did,” Thomas interrupted, “there was a storm.” He lowered his head. “They stood no chance…”
“And you two, miraculously, survived, once again?”
Thomas didn’t dare to look up and waited. Then he heard the captain’s threatening voice next to his right ear.
“When I recall correctly, this is the – what - fourth time you come to me with the same kind of story.”
Thomas felt he had to reply on that. “What can I say, so many storms is normal this time of year.” He dared to look up once. “It’s all coincidence.”
Valdez grinned again. “Coincidence, of course,” he said unconvinced.
He started circling around Thomas, which made him more and more nervous.
“Coincidence,” he repeated between his teeth. “And that friend of yours who is always coming with you.“
When Mario heard he was talking about him, he took some steps backward, afraid he would have to join Thomas in his punishment as well.
“Mario stays out of it. He doesn’t-” He stopped in the middle of his sentence, afraid of speaking too much.
“What were you trying to say, huh? He doesn’t know what you are planning?”
“I’m not planning anything!” Thomas had to defend himself and his friend now. “I meant…he doesn’t play any part in what happened. We can’t help it when a ship sinks.” He pointed with his hand to the open sea. “Certainly when it is in a state like that. And we can’t help it either if we survive and the others don’t.” He raised his shoulders. “Maybe some did survive, we don’t even know. And we probably never will.”
Thomas now hoped to have taken away enough of Valdez’ suspicion, to at least receive a milder judgement. If he would really know what had happened these couple of days, he wouldn’t survive the night. And maybe Mario too because he helped him and didn’t do anything to stop him.
“And yes, it could have happened four times. But like I said, that ship was not in the best condition to sailing long distances. It was only a matter of time. That was the very reason I wanted to take it to Basseterre in the first place!”
“But you never arrived,” Valdez said, pointing a finger at him. “Four times.”
“Three,” Thomas corrected. “The second time, about one and a half year ago, I got it into port and all went well. But then the crew outsmarted us before we could sell them.”
Valdez turned to him. “Either way, it seems to be always your fault.”
Thomas dropped his head and let out a sigh.
The captain continued walking around him. “I shouldn’t have let you go with them. This was my best catch in years. Money I could very well use. And you are so stupid to let it escape. Again!”
“And if I hadn’t stopped you, you would have burned the ship and killed all those people! Where was your money then?!”
Valdez hit him full in his face and before he knew Thomas found himself down on the ground.
“Don’t test me, boy!”
Valdez added a kick in his stomach to emphasize his words. Thomas rolled up to handle the pain as much as he could.
“You are the reason I lost my money! Four times in a row! If I wouldn’t know better, I could say you are doing this on purpose!”
Valdez leaned down and grabbed a handful of Thomas’ hair, pulling him up.
“Are you?”
“I might be stupid to fail each time...but I am definitely not so stupid to do that on purpose.” He winced when Valdez pulled his head higher.
“Ah! Of course, coincidence was it.” He pushed Thomas’ head down, releasing him from his grasp.
He stood up, towering over him.
“I have been blind for your tricks long enough.”
Thomas racing heart had calmed down a bit as he thought he was back in control of the situation, but now hearing Valdez’ anger raging over him and not cooling down, he lost his calm again.
“Not anymore.”
Thomas scrambled to his feet.
“Captain, let me explain-“
“You will not be able to talk yourself out of this, Bailey! If there is someone to blame, than it is you. And you will pay for it. You will.”
Valdez seemed to be thinking, but then turned to his men “You all know the oath. What happens when you hurt the Aguila?”
Everybody felt the tension and didn’t want to say anything.
Valdez spun to Thomas next to him and repeated the question. Load and clear.
“What happens when you hurt the Aguila, Bailey?!”
Thomas turned his head away from him. “it’s claws will find you,” he whispered instantly. He knew now what was coming.
“It’s claws will find you indeed. And what happens to liars who are caught in it’s claws?”
Thomas breathed faster. “They get flogged…”
“And why is that, Bailey?”
Thomas took a deep breath. “To beat the lies out of them…” He swallowed.
“To beat the lies out of them,” the captain repeated, while nodding his head. “Well, I have something different in mind for you.”
He turned on his heals and pointed at one of the men. “You! Fetch a rope and put it over the yard!”
Meanwhile, Valdez picked up another rope lying around and cut off a piece. He handed it over to another one of the men next to him and nodded with his head in the direction of Thomas.
When the men tied up his hands in front of him, Thomas decided to subdue and endure what was to come.
He could not avoid it, he could not run from it. He could only hope he would be left alive, whatever he had in mind for him. And with Valdez, you could never know.
His hands bound, they brought Thomas to where the rope was lowered down from the yard.
One of the men who had tied him up, took the rope and wanted to tie it to his bounds when Valdez stopped him.
“Wait,” he interrupted, “prepare him a noose.”
Thomas watched how a knot was made in the rope to form a noose at the end.
For a moment, Thomas feared he was going to be hanged. But such punishment was normally only for those who openly betrayed Valdez. In his eyes, Thomas had only lied to him. He hadn’t brought back what he had promised.
But Thomas had betrayed him, multiple times. He had heard the captain’s suspicion. Maybe he did already know about that. Know what he had been doing, what he had done to save all those people, from slavery or being slaughtered.
But a hanging looked too simple, too normal for the way the captain thought. And then again, nobody knew what really went on in that mind of his.
The man put the knot around his hands when Valdez interrupted again.
“Hold it!”
He stood next to the man and Thomas. “Not there.” In one fluent motion he kicked Thomas’ legs from under him. Thomas fell hard on his side, hurting his right hip. backwards on the deck with a bang.
“His feet.”
The man looked at him in surprise, but the captain’s face was rigid.
The man picked up Thomas’ feet - who lay helpless on the ground, tied by his hands and a little stunned by the sudden fall - and put the rope around his boots.
The crew had seen a lot from Valdez, but even for them this was new.
“Pull!”
Thomas dangled there, held up only by the men holdinig the other side of the rope.
Everybody was watching him and waited what Valdez would do. The captain stepped forward and grabbed one of his arms to pull him closer.
“Three times I have been merciful, have I not? But it seems you are ignorant to learn from your mistakes.”
He let go of Thomas and addressed his men too.
“I was told that this was the ritual how the rulers in Ancient Persia used to handle their enemies.”
“I’m not your enemy! I didn’t do it on purpose,” Thomas lied.
He tried to follow him, but when the captain circled around him, he couldn’t see him anymore.
“You know how this ritual works? It actually quite fascinating,” he said from behind his back. “Because when you are hanging there like that, all the blood in your body will run down,” he put a finger on Thomas’ back and moved down, “to your head and when it doesn’t find a way out, it will suffocate you.” He lowered his face next to his. “Very slowly.”
He stood back up and gave Thomas a push in his back, which made him swing back and forth.
“Bring me my cat!”
That was it then, a slow and painful death awaited him. He closed his eyes and had not choice but to listen what else was to come.
By now, the crew hang on his lips. “The main reason their victims are hung upside down is that they will be awake until the end.” He gesticulated wildly. “But the Persians, however, would also saw their victims in two while hanging there. And they would feel everything, until the last moment.”
He shot an angry glare towards Thomas. “But I am not that cruel, am I?” A quite murmur went through the men, but Valdez ignored it.
Meanwhile, one of the men came back with his ‘cat’.
The cat, or cat-o'-nine-tails, was a whip consisting of nine thongs with knots fastened to a handle. It was so called because it left marks on the skin resembling the scratches of a cat.
He went back to Thomas, who had come almost to a stop again, and grabbed his shirt with both hands.
“You know, I will make it easier for you. I will make sure not all of your blood will go to your head.” In one powerful pull he ripped Thomas’ shirt open, exposing his back. “It will find a way out in between,” he said between his teeth.
He walked back to his men, to take his position in front of them. “Thirty lashes!”
The murmur under then men went louder.
“And dare to make a sound and I will double it!”
Thomas swallowed. Thirty. He’d never been punished that hard before.
He had to avoid to make a sound now, at any cost. Thirty was already enough, sixty might possibly cost him his life.
Lashing was the way for Valdez to break his men. The scars would always remind them of what they did and to not try it again. Once his men were broken, he could do what he wanted with them. He made them swear their loyalty to him and to follow him wherever he went.
The leather hit his back with a loud clashing sound. He flexed the muscles of his back and held his breath instantly. It had begun.
The following lashes followed each other fast and after a while he had lost count. He tried to get his mind off the pain of his back.
The oath they all had taken said: “Feed the Aguila, she will share her prey with me. Hurt the Aguila, her claws will find me. Leave the Aguila, she will hunt me down. The eyes of the Aguila are always watching me.”
He noticed that he was holding his breath for too long and let it go, just when another lash came down. He went to great efforts not to make a sound. He was not going to give Valdez that pleasure.
Thomas had sworn his loyalty too when he was younger, but not after some lashing. Despite everything, Valdez had judged him too young for such treatment back then and had sent him those three weeks to the crow’s nest.
When he could finally come down, he had been broken too and had no choice but to obey from then on.
Each time the lash came down, Mario shrinked like he felt the same pain as his friend hanging there. Helplessly.
He didn’t want to trade places with him, but couldn’t help but feeling sorry for him. While on the other hand, he knew, Thomas could be glad Valdez didn’t know what they had really done. How they had saved those people.
If he was honest to himself, he admired what Thomas did. What he stood for. What risks he took to help others.
Mario looked up and saw his friend swing from side to side.
“Hold him still! I might miss him,” the captain said sarcastically.
When one of the men had stopped him swinging uncontrollably, Mario could see his back. It was already a big, bloody mess. And he wasn’t even half way yet.
Thomas had come to the same conclusion. He could clearly feel the blood run down his back and the sting of his sweat seeping into his wounds.
By now, the fact he was hanging upside down was not helping either. He started to feel the pressure on his head, what Valdez had predicted, and felt weird and dizzy.
To stop him from swinging around and to avoid being hurt themselves while holding him, the men tied his bound hands to the shrouds.
Now his back was not streched out anymore from hanging straight down but instead his back bent down which tore open the cuts on his back even more.
The next lash, he didn’t know how many he had had already, made him tense his back even harder and he bit his tongue to prevent a cry from leaving his lips.
Tears of pain sprung from his eyes.
The next ones were even heavier as the thongs of leather cut deeper and deeper into his flesh and again he had to force himself to be strong.
He was not sure how long he would be able to keep this up.
Thomas felt an excruciating pain and yet he kept his mouth shut. Instead he let the tears run down his face.
“Captain!”
A voice behind Valdez called him.
Valdez, completely obsessed with Thomas, replied uninterested. “Not now. Don’t you see I’m busy.”
He heaved the whip for another blow when Powell scraped his throat.
“What?!” Annoyed, Valdez turned around at last. “Oh, you arrived,” he said, changing his mood and facial expression instantly from rage to kindness.
The girl in front of him was watching at Thomas tied up helplessly behind him. She couldn’t recognise the man hanging there, but as he was turned with his tortured back to her, she already felt sorry for him. What did he do to deserve this, such cruel punishment?
Valdez realised what she was staring at and took action.
“Get him down,” he shouted out in his hard voice again.
He turned back and came over to her, calm as ever. “Welcome on board! My apologies for this unfortunate event you had to witness, but the matter had to be dealt with.”
She saw how the man was untied from the shrouds and suspended only by the rope around his feet was dropped down. He landed hard, full on his already terrorised back. The sight made her jump.
She kept looking at the man, who appeared to be young, as he failed to get up. Another man came over to help him.
“What did he do,” she asked the captain, not taking her eyes of them.
“Do,” Valdez asked surprised. He turned her away from the scene. “Well, nothing of your concern. He is a liar and deserved it.”
She was not sure of that. He seemed to be handled far too rough in her opinion but didn’t show that. It was not uncommon that liars were punished, but like this?
Thomas, freed from his ties and finally able to get to his feet with Mario’s help, leaned against the railing. His legs and certainly his back couldn’t support the weight of his body at this moment. He was out off breath.
“This needs to be cleaned up,” Mario said. “Stay here.”
Thomas watched him go. “I’m not going anywhere…,” he mumbled.
“Do you have a name, Miss?”
She looked around, to all the men that surrounded her, back to the tortured young man and to the captain. She only recognised him from back at the tavern. This was Valdez, the leader of the group she had been serving drinks for. He already knew who she was, hence the reason she was kidnapped. So why did he want her name now? Catherine decided to play the game along.
“Who wants to know,” he asked innocently.
“I do. The name is Hernán Valdez,” he said proud.
“Your legend precedes you, captain.”
Thomas hadn’t even been aware that someone had arrived on board, until he heard that familiar voice. Her voice.
He was nailed to the ground and stared in disbelieve at the girl next to Valdez.
“Isn’t that the maid from the tavern?” Mario asked behind him.
“Yes, that’s her,” he said slowly, still watching them. But what is she doing here?
It didn’t make any sense to him.
Suddenly he was wet from head to toe and he could feel the salty water seep into the cuts on his back. The pain almost brought him back to his knees.
Mario dropped the bucket he was holding and grabbed him. “Lo siento, Thomas. You know this is the best way.”
His friend nodded, clenching his teeth really hard to not make a sound. He kept quite, because he didn’t want another round, as Valdez had promised to him.
The noise of the falling bucket had made her look in their direction, but the rest of the men didn’t pay any attention to them.
“You still have not told me your name,” the captain went on.
Her eyes moved to the ground. Why does he want to know my name so badly? Well, it can’t hurt, I guess. “Catherine, ” she said quietly.
“Catherine who?”
She dared to look up a little. “Taylor” she said doubtful.
The man’s eyes sparked. “Well Miss Taylor, you will follow these fine gentlemen below deck. They will give you a cabin of your own.”
Her eyes went wide when she realised what he meant.
“What? I...I can’t...I work at the tavern over there. You can’t just take me along with you. I belong here,” she said with fear in her voice. Her heart went a pace up.
“And now you’ll belong to me.” the captain said coolly.
Her eyes were wide open and she looked from him to the crew and back. She breathed fast, afraid for what they would do to her.
“Why me? I don’t have anything valuable. I’m just a maid,” she pleaded.
“And that’s the reason. You deserve a better life, with me.”
A better life? She tried to keep her panic at bay. “And if I choose to stay here?” she asked boldly.
“You don’t have a choice, Miss Taylor! Cast off, we’re leaving!” He started to walk away.
She ran after him.
“No! You have to bring me back to shore!” she shouted desperately.
“Powell, take this lady to her quarters and keep her there,” he said.
Daniel took Catherine’s arm and pulled her away from the captain.
“No! Let go of me!” She kicked Daniel and pulled at her arm to get free, but it was no use. “You can’t do this to me! Let me go!”
Thomas looked how she was brought away. Her screams became weaker and weaker the further she was taken below. Thomas wanted to take action, however he was not really in the position, and therefore Mario had not that much trouble in stopping him.
“Not now,” he told Thomas. “You can not fight and we have other things on our mind.”
Reluctantly, Thomas agreed with him.
They started to walk away, Mario still helping him, when Valdez turned back to them. “Bailey!”
Both of them stopped in their tracks. Thomas heart raced, for what else was to come.
Slowly they turned to the captain.
“You didn’t think you would get away with it that easily, did you? We were not done yet.”
Thomas sighed.
“Get over here!”
Meanwhile, as Thomas and Mario moved back to where they came from, Powell returned and exchanged some words with Valdez.
The captain grinned and nodded at what he had to say.
The message was too quite for Thomas to understand, but it seemed to satify Valdez.
The captain replied something back.
Powell nodded and left again. Valdez rubbed his chin while thinking.
Then he turned back to both of them. “I’ve changed my mind! You will be banished to that beloved crow’s nest of yours for three weeks after all. But you won’t come down. For nothing!”
Thomas didn’t say a word and dropped his head. He had been spared.
Mario, on the other hand, looked at him and back at the captain. “How will he survive, capitán? Without food, or water?”
Valdez answer was short. “Yes, how will he?”
A shock went through Mario. “Capitán, por favor. Let him come down, at least once.”
The captain faced the both of them. “He will stay there.” He turned to Thomas. “And should you choose to come down, just once, for any reason at all, it will be those sixty lashes for you. Understood?”
Thomas nodded silently.
Everything was better then more lashes. He was safe now.
The captain sniffed load in anger and walked away.
When he was gone, Mario looked at him with pity.
“I tried.”
“I know.” He smiled.
Without another word Thomas left, step by step, to spare his back as much as he could. Mario noticed him struggeling to get on the rail so he helped him.
“I’ll be alright,” Thomas said and patted his friend’s shoulder. “Always strong.”
“Never give up,” Mario said stupefied. He couldn’t understand why Thomas was so calm and seemingly happy. He started climbing up the sheets, slow and carefully. His back felt terrible, and it would only get worse tomorrow. But that didn’t matter to him. The pain in his body was no match to the joy in his heart. He felt a power inside him which gave him strength, a strength of thousand.
Because he knew her name now. Catherine Taylor.

To be continued...